In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN and the EU supported the rehabilitation of a national road which runs between Kisangani and Lubutu for a total of 252 km. After a decade of curtailed communication because of the war, people and commodities now fl ow easily between the city of Kisangani and the fertile and productive Eastern zones of the country. As Kisangani is in turn linked with the capital Kinshasa and the Western part of the country by the Congo river, the restored road access helped Kisangani regain its strategic place as a transportation hub linking the West and East of the DRC.
As part of the reconstruction, 9 bridges were rehabilitated and reinforced, creating 200,000 people/day jobs for the local population. An estimated 1 million people should benefi t from improved access to commerce, goods and basic social services, thus creating a path for better lives.